NHRA Insider Podcast

On this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast powered by Speedmaster host Brian Lohnes is joined by rookie nitro funny car driver Daniel Wilkerson and multi-time champion rider turned Vance and Hines crew chief Andrew Hines. The two guys have unique perspective on the 2024 season and they share it in these conversations.    For Dan Wilkerson, it has been a decent start to the 2024 year culminating i...

On this monologue style episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast, host Brian Lohnes takes you step by step through the crazy happenings on Saturday at the Charlotte 4-Wide Nationals involving Bob Tasca's team, the tech department, and what was determined to be an illegal intake manifold. It is a story with some interesting twists and turns, some truly big implications, and one that, at least in Lohnes'...

On this high-octane episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast, host Brian Lohnes is joined by National Dragster's Phil Burgess and Tony Pedregon to talk about the electric running of the Las Vegas 4-Wide Nationals as well as the upcoming Carolina 4-Wide Nationals this week.    The conversation ranges from driver performances, driver attitudes, what a hole shot actually is, the process and procedures of...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast, host Brian Lohnes is joined by Jasmine Salinas, Bob Tasca, and Del Worsham to discuss the Las Vegas 4-Wide Nationals, growth, strategy, and how great teams get their cars back on track.    Jasmine Salinas is the first guest on the show and a great conversation ensues about her early period in Top Fuel, what she has learned so far, how she has evolved as...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, funny car ace Paul Lee joins host Brian Lohnes to talk about the rapid growth of performance and success his team has experienced under the leadership of John Medlen and Jonnie Lindberg, how well Phoenix went before a mechanical problem, and what his outlook is for the rest of the NHRA season. Lee brings some great insights as a racer and...

This week on the NHRA Insider, Tony Pedregon and Kevin McKenna of NHRA National Dragster join host Brian Lohnes for a wide-ranging discussion on the early season, well, very early season results we have seen so far in NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing, what the seemingly beautiful Phoenix weekend could look like, and who's trying to emerge from the pack in this first small sampling of 2024.    Workin...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, host Brian  Lohnes recaps an insane Lucas Oil Winternationals and is then joined by Travis Shumake who will make his Top Fuel career debut in Phoenix and Lyle Barnett who will make his Arizona drag racing debut at the same event as the pro mods will be competing in the desert for the first time.    Shumake has been working for three years...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, host Brian Lohnes is joined by Steve Torrence and Jeg Coughlin Jr to talk about not only the start of the 2024 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series but their careers, their approach to drag racing, and how the mental aspect of this sport is its most towering challenge.    For Steve Torrence, a strong running car in Gainesville ha...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, host Brian Lohnes is joined by Amalie Oil Gatornationals funny car runner up Austin Prock to discuss his weekend and his rapid rise to funny car stardom. There's also a class by class breakdown and analysis of the action from the Gators and what it means for the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series going forward.    Austin Prock...

It's Gainesville week! On this show host Brian Lohnes is joined by NHRAonFox Analyst Tony Pedregon and the two go in-depth looking at the upcoming Amalie Oil Gatornationals as well as the full 2024 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season to come. The conversation is wide ranging and travels from class to class with a heavy concentration on top fuel, which presents itself on paper as perhaps the mo...

This episode of the NHRA Insider concentrates on two fascinating story lines developing in the home state of the Amalie Oil Gatornationals. Josh Hart and Dave Richards are at their center and both men join host Brian Lohnes on this episode of the show.    For Josh Hart 2023 was a string of disappoints following a shining moment at the Gators when he won the Pep Boys All-Star Call Out. After that t...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast, Jonnie Lindberg and Leah Pruett join host Brian Lohnes to talk about their pre-season testing successes and what's coming for Gainesville, which could be a watershed weekend for both of them.    For Jonnie Lindberg, he has the shot of a lifetime as a young crew chief. Working along side John Medlen in tuning Paul Lee's funny car, he gets to call from hi...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast re-minted full-time Pro Mod racer Lyle Barnett and top fuel Ace Justin Ashley join host Brian Lohnes to talk off-season moves, big expectations for 2024, and how, as individuals, they plan on making a measurable impact on the upcoming season.    Lyle Barnett had a whirlwind of an off-season. Initially tagged as the replacement driver for Leah Pruett, the...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast host Brian Lohnes dives into the big news of the Pro Stock Motorcycle category of the last week with four time champion and 49 time race winner Eddie Krawiec. National Dragster Senior Editor Kevin McKenna also joins the show to talk about motorcycles along with other brewing NHRA stories.   In this candid conversation, Eddie Krawiec talks about his caree...

If the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series off-season comes in waves, consider this the second one, and it's the central focus of this episode of the NHRA Insider. Host Brian Lohnes has Daniel Wilkerson, the newly minted driver of the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang, and Austin Prock, the even newer named driver of the Cornwell Tools, AAA, John Force Racing Chevrolet Camaro on as guests.    Bo...

On this fired up episode of the NHRA Insider host Brian Lohnes talks with Shawn Reed Racing crew chief Rob Wendland and JCM Top Fuel pilot Tony Schumacher about a multitude of behind the scenes topics in professional drag racing.    Wendland talks about the massive undertaking of getting a new Top Fuel operation off the ground. From the literal nuts and bolts, to the work, how the labor is divided...

On this first 2024 episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast host Brian Lohnes is joined by Tony Pedregon to talk about the news of the last couple of weeks, the passing of legends like Don Schumacher and Roland Leong, the wild news about JCM Racing, the new SCAG factory drag racing team, and a whole lot more.    What is normally a quiet stretch of time between Christmas and New Year's Day was far busie...

On this final 2023 episode of the NHRA Insider podcast, host Brian Lohnes talks to championship crew chief Alan Johnson who worked with a talented team to achieve a Top Fuel world championship with the Kalitta team. He talks about the building process, the end of the season run, and a lot about the inner workings of a top fuel drag racing team. It's a fascinating chat with one of the most decorate...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider host Brian Lohnes takes you through the absolutely astonishing torrent of news that came from the 2023 PRI show in Indianapolis and is later joined by a guy who helped to make some headlines in the form of Buddy Hull, who is moving into the Jim Dunn Racing nitro funny car for the 2024 season.   The first 20 minutes of this show is nothing but headlines, analysis...

This week on the NHRA Insider Podcast host Brian Lohnes is joined by Tony Pedregon. The pair talk about the continuing news around crew chief moves in the NHRA and they preview what will be the largest and most exciting week of drag racing news in years at PRI.    From the announcements of new teams, new drivers, the NHRA National Dragster All-Star Team, new sponsors, and more, this will be a week...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider, host Brian Lohnes drops the puck on the silly season with a load of news from behind the scenes of NHRA drag racing. Crew chiefs moving around, brewing controversy with one announcement, perhaps, longtime unions busted up, and new ones formed. This is wild stuff!   The guests on the show are funny car racer and Pomona winner Chad Green who talks about his weeke...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast, Tony Pedregon and Phil Burgess host Brian Lohnes to talk all things past, present, and future in NHRA drag racing. The trio have a class-by-class championship breakdown with loads of insight, loads of information, and loads of behind-the-scenes knowledge only they can bring.    This wide ranging discussion moves to the teams and people that struggled du...

On this live edition of the NHRA Insider Podcast, hosts Brian Lohnes and Tony Pedregon are joined by National Dragster Editorial Director Phil Burgess, top fuel driver Josh Hart, and funny car pilot Chad Green.  The guy will get inside the head of drag racing's most knowledgeable journalist and get his take on early qualifying and how the weekend is laying out in the performance realm and champion...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast, Brian Lohnes and Tony Pedregon talk all things Las Vegas and about the upcoming In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals. It was a controversial and hardcore weekend in the desert paradise of lights and glamour where a handful of racers set their course for potential championships. Gaige Herrera dominated, Erica Enders got her 10 th  victory at the facility, and the...

Join hosts Brian Lohnes and Tony Pedregon in the pits at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as they talk to the three leading contenders for the 2023 NHRA FuelTech Pro Mod championship.  Mike Castellana, Justin Bond, and Kris Thorne are racing to the wire. Thorne is the defending series champion, and both Bond and Castellana are seeking their first world title.  The conversation will be lively and both Lohn...